The great Payton Jordan dies

[Charlie_Francis]

@kitkat1

:([CHARLIE WAS MR JORDAN YOUR COACH AT STANFORD? IF SO, MY SYMPATHIES FOR YOUR LOSS. HE SEEMS LIKE A GREAT MAN- kk]

US Olympic athletics coach Jordan dies

LAGUNA HILLS, California (AP) — Payton Jordan, coach of the record-setting 1968 US Olympic athletics team, died Thursday aged 91.
Jordan died of cancer at his home in Laguna Hills, daughter Cheryl Melville said.

He led the US track team to a record 24 medals, 12 of them gold, at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City. He served as Stanford University’s track and field coach from 1957-79.

Years ago, Jordan recalled how his Olympic team excelled despite some black athletes threatening to boycott the games over a push for civil rights.

“We just sat down and talked about how hard everyone worked for so long to get ready for this lifetime opportunity,” he told the Los Angeles Times in 1989.

“It was like the high altitude in Mexico City – something we weren’t used to – or like an injury. It was just something we had to work through and overcome.”

Before his coaching career, Jordan broke world records with Southern California – in the 440-yard relay in 1938 and the 100-yard dash on grass in 1941. His records stood for decades.

He also played football for the University of Southern California and played in the 1939 Rose Bowl.

Instead of competing in the 1940 and 1944 Olympics, which were canceled due to World War II, Jordan joined the Navy.

He started his coaching career at Occidental College, and later produced seven Olympic athletes at Stanford.

After retirement, he laced up his running shoes to compete in masters races. He set his last masters world record in the 100-yard dash at the Penn Relays in 1998 – at age 80. He set his last world record in the 100-meter dash in 1997.

I just heard this morning.
I’m glad to have had the chance to see him with Ange and James 4 years ago in Santa Barbara while visiting a client and I stayed in touch till he moved back to the LA area about a year ago to be closer to his daughters.
He stayed remarkably fit (12.91e 100m at 70!) and looked pretty much the way I remembered from all those years ago.
It was interesting to find out some of the things he’d done through other parties. For example, while I was with the St Louis Rams, Dick Vermiel told me that Peyton had helped him get his first head coaching job at UCLA after he’d been an assistant at Stanford. He also got my old teammate, Kevin McNair his coaching job at Occidental (Kevin passed away this summer).
I also know he stayed in touch with Tommy Smith and John Carlos over all the years since Mexico City in 1968 when he was the head track coach of the US Olympic team.